This invention relates to the use of antiseptics in root canal treatment so as to reduce the proliferation of bacteria and other micro-organisms remaining in the root canal after obturation.
Sodium hypochlorite is universally used as an antiseptic for root canal irrigation, its principal functions in root canal treatment being microbicidai, dissolving organic material and lubrication. However, a disadvantage of sodium hypochlorite is that it is highly toxic to human tissues and cells in concentrated form and potentially even fatal at the concentrations at which it is at its most effective as an irrigating medium.